Rhine Garden Restaurant 嘉韻軒 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

After 13 years working under my current boss, today marked my final time reporting to him. For the longest time, I tried not to think about his imminent retirement and put it out of my mind. It worked for a while but I knew the day would eventually come. And it did.

Despite working together for more than a decade, my boss and I still have our different views on things. But I always believe it's okay to have different opinion on things as long as we can respect each other's views. One of the things I admire most about him is his heart. He always stays true about what he believes in and even after 33 years at his job, he still has the fire and passion to do what he believes is right. I'm going to miss him.

It's a bit ironic but I drive a lot of changes at work but then I don't believe in change of guards. I thought I knew "The Only Constant in Life Is Change." by heart but it's easy to say I knew it right from the start than actually accepting it as a fact. 



We threw a big party for him and a couple other retiring colleagues last week. Today, it was a more quiet farewell party, a simple lunch at Rhine Garden Restaurant (嘉韻軒) in Sham Tseng (深井). Of course, we couldn't have it without a roasted goose. 

This is truly goodbye now. Time for a brand new era. Somehow I wasn't really looking forward to it. But yeah, change is the only constant in life. The cliche rings in my ears (and head) again.

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, Rhine Garden, 38 Castle Peak Road - Sham Tseng, Sham Tseng, NT, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: N/A

Tel: +852 2496-2233

Opening Hours: 7:30am - 10:00pm daily

Modern China Restaurant 金滿庭京川滬菜館 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

Modern China Restaurant (金滿庭京川滬菜館), a Shanghainese restaurant in Olympian City has always had a special place in Jelloman's heart so we agreed to go for a quick visit over the weekend. A friend of ours who knows the owner of this restaurant (or former owner), told us that his friend was so passionate about Shanghainese cuisine that he actually went to Shanghai on a special research trip to learn about the authenticity of the cuisine before opening his first restaurant. At one point, it was considered one of the better Shanghainese restaurants in town and there was always a long queue in front of its flagship at Olympian City. In recent years, while the long lineup remains, the food just wasn't what it used to be, and I quietly wonder if there's been a change of ownership (as they've expanded quite a lot in recent years.).

Xiao Long Bao (小籠包) – Little nugget has been really sick the last couple of weeks and we got really worried about him (since he hasn't been this sick since he was a baby). This was his first outing since his recovery (which has been very slow) so we knew we had to be careful with him.

Xiao Long Bao sounded like a very safe bet to start off the meal and little one always loves the warm broth inside the dumpling.

Drunken Chicken (醉雞) – The flavors from the yellow wine from Shaoxing (紹興) weren't bad but the texture wasn't the greatest. I thought the one we had at Night Market last week was much better. Thus, I am again thinking about my theory that there's been a change of ownership. And change of ownership often means change of head chef.

Fried meat dumplings (鍋貼) – Like the Xiao Long Bao, the warm broth flooded out immediately after the first bite. Lovely sweetness from the broth worked well with the crispy wrapper. 

Fried noodles Shanghai-style (上海粗炒) – Something for little nugget and he always loves his noodles, fried and served with soup.

Like I've said in the opening, the food just wasn't as good as it was about a decade ago but then I could say the same thing about a hundred other good restaurants in the city. Perhaps, my palate has gone numb over the years too. I'm getting old.

It's good to finally see some energy in my son again. It's a big blow for him but he's back on the right track again.

We're supposed to have a BBQ with friends in Yuen Long this afternoon but with him just back to full bill of health, we'll just join the gang after their BBQ.

Food Rating: 5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop UG068, Olympian City II,18 Hoi Ting Road, Tai Kok Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Olympic

Tel: +852 2910-1000

Opening Hours: 11:45am - 4:30pm, 5:45pm - 11:00pm daily

Five Guys Central (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

I have an appointment to have my influenza vaccine in Central this afternoon but didn't realize that the clinic would be closed until 2. Rather than wandering around the street waiting for the clinic to re-open for business, I decided to swing by the nearby Five Guys for a frosty milkshake.

I have visited quite a number of Five Guys in the city but this was one that I have never crossed path with.

They definitely have one of the best selection of milkshakes in town; in fact, I think only The Pantry has more in their arsenal in terms of milkshakes. It was a tough choice between Five Guys' salted caramel and peanut butter shake but I ended up getting the former.

This was pretty good but I thought they were way too heavy-handed with their sprinkle of sea salt this afternoon!

Price: $$$

Address: Manning House, 48 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Tel: +852 3618-9122

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 10:00pm daily

Minimal 迷你毛 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

We were in Sham Shui Po early getting little nugget's choir uniform. It's on an unfamiliar side (for me) of the neighborhood where I've never been before so I did what I usually do when I visit a new area, I checked it out on the map including where we could go for lunch right after.

Minimal (迷你毛) is a neighborhood coffee shop and dessert cafe all under one roof. It's sandwiched between a number of courier companies and automobile repair shops but with its sleek design, it's not difficult to find.

They have a no-reservation policy for lunch but since we got there early, there was no problem for us getting a table.



Egg benedict with smoked salmon ($95) – I'm not forgetting that it's really brunch for me as I haven't got anything to eat all morning. 

This was just perfect. The well-executed soft-boiled egg and Hollandaise sauce served on top of the pillowy waffle. I won't mind the fibre from the small garden green too. 

Linguine carbonara, pancetta, parmesan, egg ($95) – A simple carbonara with parmesan and pancetta already made the kids very very happy. 

Orecchiette, porcini, mushrooms ($95) – They have a spicy version with pork but since the kids don't eat spicy, we opted for the vegetarian, non-spicy one with porcini instead. I thought the pasta was a small chewy but the assorted mushrooms which were slightly soaky really balanced things out a bit.

Fresh pappardelle, scallops, lumpfish caviar, lobster sauce ($138) – Our last pasta dish was their homemade pappardelle topped with pan-seared Hokkaido scallops and lumpfish caviar. Little nugget's eyes immediately lit up when he saw the size of those scallops.

I thought the pasta was really well cooked this afternoon (a little unexpected from a small cafe in Sham Shui Po). Perfectly al dente and the dish wasn't soupy like some of the other places in town.

I have my eyes on their tiramisu so I left some extra room in my stomach while enjoying the pasta and good thing I did cuz this was seriously good.

For a small cafe of its size, it sure offers a very nice collection of desserts including French toast, cheesecake, mille-feuille, yuzu lemon tart and of course their signature apple crumble (that comes with a modern twist) but I had my sight set on their tiramisu ($72) the whole time.

Creamy mascarpone, kahlua, cocoa crumble and if I am not mistaken, some almond dacquoise on the bottom for some lovely crunch. I won't mind coming back again just for this baby!

Food Rating: 5.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F, 121-123 Apliu Street, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Sham Shui Po

Website: www.facebook.com/minimalcafehk/

Opening Hours: 11:00am - 9:00pm daily

Dingkee 鼎記 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★☆☆☆

I have another physio session this morning and like I usually do, I circle around my physiotherapist's office looking for a new place for my breakfast. This place called Dingkee (鼎記) looked kind of interesting.

I was interested in checking out their "morning batch" of barbecued pork. 

Fried eggs, butter brioche, noodles and of course, char siu that was (supposingly) freshly barbecued their morning.



The iced pantyhose milk tea passed the test in flying colors. Very milky.

The noodles with black garlic oil were pretty standard. Nothing to write home about really.

Now the main event, their morning batch of char siu. The texture didn't look too promising. Let's see if it tasted better than it looked.

This was disappointing. It's supposed to be the heart and soul of their morning set and although it didn't fail miserably, it didn't really live up to the lofty expectation.

Food Rating: 3.5/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop A2, G/F, Concord Building, 60-102 Soy Street, Mongkok, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Mongkok

Tel: +852 9733-3993

Opening Hours: 7:30am - 12:00am daily

Dang Wen Li by Dominique Ansel H Queen's 當文歷餅店 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

Of course, we didn't come all the way to Central just for some gelato at Messina. I had a pie to pick up this afternoon.



About a month ago, I saw an ad on Dangwenli's website promoting their pies for fall - salted caramel apple pie, classic pumpkin pie and my favorite North American style caramelized pecan pie.

Here they are on display at Dangwenli's flagship at H Queens. All three of their pies.

By ordering my caramelized pecan pie a few weeks in advance, I got a $20 discount. This looks amazing!!!

The crunchy caramelized pecans and flaky crust, everything just looked perfect.

The crispy crust was indeed heavenly. And the fillings of maple syrup, chopped pecans, and the drizzle of whisky.....man, it reminded me so much of Vancouver and there was this place in the city called True Confections where I had my first caramelized pecan pie. I still remembered the gooey filling and the crunch from the pecans. I was still a university student back then.

Food Rating: 7/10

Price: $$$

Address: Shop 2, G/F H Queen’s, 80 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central / Hong Kong Station

Tel: +852 3482-7735

Website: https://dangwenli.com/

Opening Hours: 8:00am - 8:30pm (Mon - Fri), 9:00am - 8:00pm (Sat - Sun)

Gelato Messina (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★★☆

We have a really busy schedule this afternoon. Following our early dim sum brunch in Admiralty, it was time to head over to Central. Jelloman brought up a very good point that little nugget has yet to travel on a tram before so we ended up getting a comfortable ride on one of the city's oldest transportation route.

Speaking of first-timers, little nugget wasn't the only one who's taking a tram for the first time. It was the same case for mom (and me second or third time I couldn't recall)!

We were in Central mainly for my pecan pie but I made a promise to Jelloman and little one that I'd bring them over to the newly opened Gelato Messina for some frosty ice-cream and I intended to keep that promise. At 1:45pm, I was easily, well second in the lineup.

The opening hours start at 2pm so about 15 more minutes to go before someone unlocks this door.

He was getting a little impatient but thankfully, the good guys behind Messina came out with some small ice-cream samples on a stick for us. 

Finally we were the second group that made it through the door. I quickly settled down the gang before placing my order at the counter.

Of course, I knew exactly what to order already - all the Hong Kong exclusive flavors (almost all)!

We were sharing three different flavors, sugarcane, tofu fa and white chocolate hazelnut.

Jelloman had a bit of a mixed review on the three flavors we had this afternoon. She thought the sugarcane sorbet was a little on the sweet side. The white chocolate hazelnut was full of hazelnut flavor but the white chocolate didn't really register. Her favorite was obviously the tofu fa. But for me, I really didn't care cuz a visit to Messina felt like a 5-minute getaway to Sydney. That's the feeling right now during the pandemic.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$

Address: G/F 37-43 Pottinger Street, Central, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Central

Website: www.gelatomessina.com.hk

Opening Hours: 3:00pm - 10:00pm (Tue - Thu), 3:00pm - 11:00apm (Fri - Sun)

Man Ho Chinese Restaurant 萬豪金殿 (Hong Kong, CHINA) ★★★☆☆

In the past couple of years, I have been hearing some great things about Man Ho Chinese Restaurant (萬豪金殿) and how young Executive Chef Jayson Tang (鄧家濠) shaped the restaurant into one of the best in the city. Still just 35 years of age, Chef Tang is one of Hong Kong's youngest Cantonese chefs to helm a Michelin starred kitchen.

Of course, they have to make sure that diners are aware of their lofty achievement, the Michelin star when they walk through those doors.

I have to admit, I wasn't all that impressed with then Man Ho (萬豪中菜廳) during my last visit in 2017 (this explained why we didn't make a return trip in 4 years).

It wasn't just the food that was a little disappointing last time around so I was hopeful that everything including today's service is vastly improved after they were awarded with their first Michelin star.

Some roasted cashews to whet our appetite before we started the meal. Is that matcha powder in there?

Steamed shrimp dumpling with beetroot (胭脂明蝦餃) – Pretty decent start. The sweetness of beetroot was a nice match with the shrimps. In my opinion, could have been more heavy-handed with the beetroot.

Steamed pork and shrimp dumpling with morel mushroom (羊肚菌燒賣) – Always nice to have morel mushrooms. It's one of my favorite ingredients, western or Chinese cuisine alike. 

Steamed squid with garlic (金銀蒜鮮魷) – Surprisingly tender and full of garlic flavors.

Very delicious.

Steamed cod fish dumpling with soy sauce (醬油鱈魚餃) – I expected this to be a little more cute.

The sweet soy was a bit overpowering and yeah, I was never a fan of fish so it's going to take a lot to win me over.

Deep-fried spring rolls with crab meat and salted egg yolk (金沙蟹肉春卷) – I remembered having this during our last visit too and it was one of the better dim sum last time.

This came with loads of fresh crab meat packed in the middle. Could possibly go down as the best dish of the afternoon once again.

Baked minced wagyu beef pastries with mustard (芥末和牛酥) – The pastries were not crispy enough on the outside. 

Could definitely do without this one (and the codfish dumpling as well).

Steamed beef balls with bean curd sheet (山竹牛肉球) – Something for little nugget. He loves his minced beef balls.

Pan-fried Hokkaido scallop in lobster sauce (龍蝦汁元貝皇) – I have been quietly looking forward to the two signature dishes, which were served following our parade of dim sum. The first to arrive was pan-fried Hokkaido scallop with a buttery lobster sauce.

I thought this was just OK. The scallop was a little bit overcooked and the lobster sauce not nearly rich and tangy enough. I did enjoy the little deep-fried "see hum" on the side.

Steamed egg with lobster fillets in saffron sauce, served with mullet roe (金影玉玲瓏) – The other signature dish we ordered this afternoon and I was expecting to be blown away. But I wasn't.

I wasn't expected my lobster fillets to be on the soft (a bit mushy) side. And with the steamed egg and lobster fillet both light in flavors, I was kinda expecting a powerful finish from the saffron sauce and shaved bottarga but that was something that they failed to deliver.

We didn't order dessert cuz everyone claimed to be really full but no problem there since we had some complimentary sweet treats from the kitchen.

Little nugget has been in a very nice mood since we entered the restaurant. You know why? Well cuz grandma brought him some new toys.

And he couldn't wait to get started.

He's getting really good at putting his legos together. 

But he got really frustrated when our dim sum arrived cuz he was ordered to put his toys away until we finished.

While this was an improvement from our last visit, the experience fell short of my expectation from a Michelin starred restaurant. Maybe it's Sunday and the kitchen staff was having an off day but I expected a lot more from the two signature dishes we ordered (the dim sums were generally good). It could be another 4 years before we decide to pay another visit.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: $$$$

Address: 3/F, JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong, Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong

Closest Metro Station: Admiralty

Tel: +852 2810-8366

Website: www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/hkgdt-jw-marriott-hotel-hong-kong/dining/man-ho-chinese-restaurant/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 3:00pm (Mon - Fri), 11:30am - 3:00pm (Sat - Sun), 6:00pm - 10:30pm (Mon - Sun)